CN110575704A

CN110575704A - Water cooler filter with safety bayonet type connection

Info

Publication number: CN110575704A
Application number: CN201910500872.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: J·鲁宾
Original assignee: Bihes Group
Current assignee: Bihes Group
Priority date: 2018-06-11
Filing date: 2019-06-11
Publication date: 2019-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 2039-06-11
Also published as: CA3045692C; GB2576397A; US11123667B2; GB201908240D0; GB2611892C; CN110575704B; US20190374885A1; US20210229009A1; CA3045692A1; GB2611892B; GB202216794D0; GB2576397B; GB2611892A

Abstract

A filter for a water cooler includes a housing having a surface and a cavity having a cavity port. The filter end is adapted to be received in the housing. The filter end includes a cylindrical base having a surface and a neck extending from the surface. The neck has a filter port and a side surface. The side surface has oppositely directed axially extending elongated projections configured to be received in channels in the housing. The base surface comprises a multiplicity of protrusions adapted to be received in a similarly configured set of recesses in the housing surface. The protrusions/recesses may take the form of letters, numbers or symbols. The filter tip is fully mounted in the housing in a bayonet-type manner to connect the filter port and the housing port, allowing water to flow from the water supply through the filter to the water cooler.

Description

Water cooler filter with safety bayonet type connection

Technical Field

the present invention relates to a water cooler filter of the type which is connected to a water cooler by inserting the end of the filter into a cavity in a filter adapter housing associated with a bayonet water cooler; and more particularly to such a filter having enhanced safety requiring two separate interlocks to properly secure the filter in the housing.

Background

The present invention relates to a filter for a water cooler of the type connected to a filter adapter housing associated with a bayonet water cooler. The front end of the filter is inserted into a cavity in the filter adapter housing and rotated relative to the housing to align the inlet and outlet ports in the filter end with the corresponding ports in the housing. Once fully seated, a fluid tight connection between the filter and the water cooler is established.

Conventional water filters of this type comprise a hollow cylinder within which a filter material is located. The front end of the filter includes a generally cylindrical base portion including a surface extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the filter, and a neck portion extending from the base surface. The filter port is located in the neck.

The housing includes a housing surface extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the filter, and a cavity adapted to receive the neck of the front end of the filter. The cavity has a shape corresponding to the shape of the neck. The cavity includes a port connected to receive unfiltered water from the supply and to provide filtered water from the filter to the water cooler.

The neck of the filter end is provided with one or more axially extending elongate projections which are received in corresponding axially extending channels in the chamber wall when the front end of the filter is inserted into the housing. Once the front end of the filter is fully inserted into the cavity such that the base surface abuts the housing surface, the protrusion passes through the passage and into a circumferential passage within the housing cavity such that the filter can be rotated relative to the housing to a position in which the filter end is fully secured in the housing and a fluid connection is formed between the filter port and the housing port.

however, while the axially oriented projections cooperate with the channels in the housing to provide an interlock, the interlock of conventional filters is not sufficiently secure for some applications. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved interlocking structure for this type of water cooler filter.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides an additional interlock that prevents the front end of the filter from rotating to its fully rotated seated position after the first interlock engages each other unless the components of the additional interlock also engage each other. The second interlock serves the additional purpose of enhancing the fluid connection between the filter and the housing to prevent leakage.

In the present invention, the filter cannot be fully seated unless the components of the second interlock engage one another. The second interlocking means comprises one or more protrusions on the surface of the filter base extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the filter. When the filter end is fully inserted into the housing cavity, the base surface of the filter abuts the housing surface, which also extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the filter axis. The housing surface has one or more recesses configured to receive the protrusions on the base surface when the filter end is in its fully rotated position.

The base surface has one or more inclined surface portions from which the protrusions extend. When the filter end is rotated towards its fully rotated position, the inclined portion of the base surface causes the filter base to move away from the housing a small distance to allow the recess in the housing surface to align with and receive the projection on the inclined portion of the filter end surface, forming a second interlock. In the fully rotated position, the filter end is fully secured in the housing and the ports in the filter are aligned with the ports in the housing, allowing water to pass through the filter to the water cooler.

The inclined portion of the base surface needs to be inclined only enough to allow the housing surface to move over the protrusion of the base surface so that the protrusion can be aligned and received in the recess. Thus, the inclination need only be slightly greater than the height of the protrusions on the base surface. However, without tilting, the filter cannot be rotated to its fully rotated position and the filter cannot be properly seated in the housing.

Preferably, the projection and recess are formed from a complex set which must be matched precisely or otherwise the filter cannot be properly seated in the housing. The protrusions preferably extend in a generally horizontal pattern along the inclined base surface portion. The protrusion may extend in an arcuate configuration to follow the contour of the base surface. The recesses in the surface of the housing must follow the same pattern.

The complex set of protrusions and mating recesses may be of any shape and size. However, it is desirable that they have a unique shape, include a plurality of spaced apart portions and extend in a linear or arcuate manner along the abutment surface. Examples of such sets of interlocks may include geometric shapes, symbols, various types of characters (such as letters, numbers, or combinations thereof, and may form words, logos, designs, etc.).

according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a filter for a water cooler of the type having a housing with a cavity and a cavity port. The filter includes an end portion. The end of the filter has a substantially cylindrical base. The filter base has a base surface and a neck extending from the base surface. The neck has a filter port and a side surface. The side surface of the neck includes an elongated protrusion. The base surface includes an inclined surface portion having one or more protrusions. The filter end is configured to be received in the housing in a bayonet-style manner to align the filter port with the port of the cavity.

One or more protrusions extend from the inclined base surface portion and preferably take the form of a replica of the protrusion selected from the group consisting of: geometric shapes, symbols, characters of various types (e.g., letters, numbers, or combinations thereof, and may form words, logos, designs, etc.). The complex set of protrusions may include letters whose spelling represents a word or symbol of the original design.

The base surface extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the filter axis. Which surrounds the neck. The base surface may be convex.

The side surface of the neck extends in a direction substantially parallel to the filter axis. The elongated protrusions extend from a bottom edge of the side surface of the neck along the side surface, or may extend from a location proximate the bottom edge toward the top edge.

The filter is designed to be used in conjunction with a housing associated with a water cooler. The housing has a surface and a cavity with a cavity port. The cavity is configured to receive a neck of the filter end. It includes a chamber wall adapted to align with a side surface of the filter neck. The chamber wall has a channel adapted to receive an elongated protrusion on the filter neck when the filter end is inserted into the housing. Once the filter end is fully inserted into the housing cavity, the elongate projection passes through the passage and the filter end can be rotated relative to the housing. As the filter end is rotated, the housing surface cooperates with the sloped base surface portion to allow alignment of the protrusion and recess. Once aligned, the protrusion is received in the recess and the filter end is fully seated in the housing. In the fully seated position, the filter port is aligned with the cavity port.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a filter for a water cooler is provided, of the type having a housing with a surface, a cavity and a cavity port. The filter has an end. The filter end includes a substantially cylindrical base having a base surface and a neck extending from the base surface. The neck has a filter port and a side surface. The side surface of the neck has first and second spaced apart elongated projections. The base surface has first and second inclined surface portions. Each inclined surface portion has a set of one or more protrusions. The filter end is configured to be received in the housing in a bayonet-style manner to align the filter port and the cavity port.

Each set of protrusions takes the form of a complex set of protrusions selected from the group consisting of: geometric shapes, symbols, characters of various types (e.g., letters, numbers, or combinations thereof, and may form words, logos, designs, etc.). The protrusions may include letters of spelling words and/or symbols representing original designs.

The filter has an axis. The side surface of the neck extends in a direction substantially parallel to the filter. The side surface has a bottom edge. The elongated protrusion extends from a location proximate a bottom edge of the side surface or from a location proximate the bottom edge toward a top edge of the side surface.

The filter is designed to be used in conjunction with a housing associated with a water cooler. The housing has a surface, a cavity, and a cavity port. The cavity is configured to receive a neck of the filter end. It has a cavity wall adapted to align with the side surface of the filter neck. The chamber wall includes first and second channels adapted to receive the first and second elongated protrusions, respectively, when the filter end is inserted into the housing. After rotation of the filter relative to the housing, the housing surface has one or more recesses adapted to receive the first and second sets of projections, respectively, such that the sets of projections are aligned and received in the recesses, allowing the filter end to be fully secured in the housing with the filter port aligned with the cavity port.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a filter for a water cooler, the filter being for use in conjunction with a housing associated with the water cooler. The housing has a surface, a cavity, and a cavity port. The filter has an end. The end of the filter includes a substantially cylindrical base having a base surface and a neck extending from the base surface. The neck has a filter port and a side surface. The side surface of the neck has an elongated protrusion. The base surface includes a sloped surface portion having a replica of one or more protrusions. The cavity includes a cavity wall adapted to align with a side surface of the filter neck. The chamber wall has a channel adapted to receive the elongated protrusion when the filter end is inserted into the housing. The housing surface has a multiplicity of one or more recesses and is configured to cooperate with the inclined base surface portion such that the filter can be rotated to a position in which the multiplicity of protrusions is aligned with the multiplicity of recesses; in this way, the filter end is fully secured in the housing and the filter port is aligned with the cavity port.

Drawings

For these and other purposes which may appear hereinafter, the present invention relates to a water cooler filter with a safety bayonet connection, as described in detail in the following description and in the appended claims, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a filter canister, filter end, housing and cover;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the front end of the filter;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the filter end showing the top, front and sides;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the filter end;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the housing showing the bottom, front and left side portions;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the housing; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the housing showing the bottom, rear and right side portions.

Detailed Description

As shown in fig. 1, the filter assembly includes a hollow, generally cylindrical filter canister, generally designated a, designed to hold a filter material through which water supplied to a water cooler (not shown) will pass before being cooled and dispensed by the water cooler. Can a has an open top and a central axis.

The front end of the filter assembly, generally designated B, is designed to be permanently secured to the open top of the tank a. The filter front end B has inlet and outlet ports that allow unfiltered water to enter the filter and filtered water to exit the filter.

The front end B of the filter is configured to be received in a housing (generally designated C). The housing C has inlet and outlet ports which will align with the inlet and outlet ports of the filter when the front end B of the filter is fully seated in the housing so that unfiltered water can flow through the housing into the filter and filtered water can flow from the housing to a water cooler (not shown) associated with the housing.

A cover, generally designated D, is configured to be received on the housing. The cover D is designed to "snap" onto the housing to protect the housing.

The bracket 10 is arranged to support the filter assembly on a wall of the water cooler. The bracket includes first and second arms 12, 14 that extend upwardly from the main body of the bracket. The upper ends of the bracket arms 12, 14 are curved to receive tubular portions 16, 18 respectively, the tubular portions 16, 18 extending in opposite directions from a tube 20, the end of the tube 20 being located at the top of the housing C. The pipe 20 contains the ends of inlet and outlet pipes 22 and 24 which supply unfiltered water to the housing and transport filtered water from the housing to the water cooler.

The lid D has side openings 26 to receive the tubes 20. When the cover is positioned on the housing, the tube 20 extends through the side opening 26 of the cover.

referring now to fig. 2-4, filter end B includes a generally cylindrical base 28, the base 28 having a surface 30. The surface 30 extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the filter axis. The surface 30 may be planar but is preferably slightly convex as shown in the preferred embodiment of the drawings.

Projecting upwardly from the surface 30 of the base 28 is a generally cylindrical neck, generally designated 38. Surface 30 surrounds neck 38. The neck 38 has various portions configured to mate with the contours of a cavity in the housing C, generally designated 40. The cavity 40 is best shown in fig. 5, 6 and 7, which show the underside of the housing.

The top portion of the neck 38 includes two portions having generally flat top surfaces 42 and 44. Two water inlet ports 46 are located in the surface portion 42. A single water outlet port 48 is located in the surface portion 44.

The neck 38 also has a side surface 50, the side surface 50 extending in a direction substantially parallel to the filter axis. Projecting outwardly from opposite locations on the neck surface 50 are spaced apart elongated projections 52, only one of which is visible in the drawings. The other projection 52 is hidden in the figure but is preferably located half a turn around the surface 50 so as to be opposite the visible projection 52.

Each projection 52 extends along the surface 50 in an axial direction from a position at or near the bottom edge of the side surface 50, towards the top edge of the side surface. The elongated protrusions extend only to a portion of the side surface.

The projection 52 on the filter end B cooperates with the channel 54 of the cavity 40 in the housing C to form a first interlock. To insert the neck 38 of the filter end B into the cavity 40 of the housing C, the filter is rotated relative to the housing C until the elongated protrusions 52 in the side surface of the neck align with the channels 54 in the chamber wall, the latter being visible in fig. 5, 6 and 7. Once this occurs, as the filter end is moved in an axial direction into the cavity, the protrusions pass through the aligned channels until the base surface 30 abuts the surface 56 on the housing. The surface 56 of the housing extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the filter axis.

The base surface 30 has two spaced apart inclined surface portions 32 on opposite sides of the base. Each of these parts carries one or more protrusions. Preferably, each of the one or more protrusions comprises a complex set of protrusions (generally designated E). As shown, for example, the complex set E of protrusions forms a logo and the word AVALON.

In the fully inserted position, the base surface 30 abuts the housing surface 56 and the filter can be rotated toward its fully rotated position. As the filter rotates, the housing surface 56 cooperates with the inclined base surface portion 32 of the base surface to move the housing surface 56 a small distance away from the base surface 30a to allow the recesses (generally designated F) on the housing surface 56 to align with and receive the projections E on the base surface 30. The projections E and recesses F are configured to be identical in shape, size and layout such that when the projections are aligned with the recesses, the projections are received in the recesses and allow the base surface 30 to again abut the housing surface 56.

since the height of the protrusion is small, the inclination of the base surface portion 32 may also be small, just enough to allow the housing surface to move away from the base surface so that the protrusion and recess can be aligned.

referring to fig. 6, the housing cavity 40 is configured to receive the neck 38. Cavity 40 has a cavity 40a and a cavity 40 b. Chamber 40a is located at the top of the housing and has a smaller diameter than chamber 40b to receive the smaller diameter top portion of the neck. Chamber 40b has a larger diameter and is configured to receive the larger bottom portion of the neck. When the filter end is inserted into the housing, the cavity is contoured to closely receive the neck to isolate chambers 40a and 40 b.

When the filter end is received in the housing, a port 48 in the surface 44 of the neck 38 connects to the chamber 40 a. An opening 60 in the wall of chamber 40a connects the chamber to tube 22 of tube 20.

when the filter end is received in the housing, a port 46 in the surface 42 of the neck 38 connects to the chamber 40 b. An opening 62 in the wall of chamber 40b connects chamber 40b and tube 24. The chambers 40a and 40b are isolated from each other by the neck 38 so that unfiltered water must pass through the filter material in the canister to reach the outlet port of the filter from the inlet port of the filter. To do this, the components of the two interlocks must engage one another so that the filter can be rotated to its fully rotated position and fully seated within the housing.

When the protrusions of each set of protrusions E are aligned with the recesses in each set of recesses F, the filter end is locked within the housing. In this position, the filter port and the housing port are aligned and sealed to each other. The unfiltered water can then freely move from the supply through the filter assembly to the water cooler for cooling and distribution.

Although the complex set of protrusions/recesses forming the second interlocking means may be formed in any pattern as long as they are suitably complex, it is preferred that the various portions are spatially separated and selected from the group of: geometric shapes, symbols, characters of various types (e.g., letters, numbers, or combinations thereof, and may form words, logos, designs, etc.).

In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the second interlocking means are shown as spaced letters, forming the word AVALON, preceded by a symbol in the form of a logo, by way of example.

Although only a single preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed for purposes of illustration, it will be evident that many modifications and variations may be made thereto. It is intended to cover all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A filter for a water cooler, wherein the filter is of the type having a housing with a cavity and a cavity port, the filter comprising an end and an axis; the filter end including a substantially cylindrical base having a base surface extending in a plane perpendicular to the filter axis, the filter further including a neck extending from the base surface, the neck having a filter port and a side surface; a side surface of the neck includes an elongated protrusion extending in a direction substantially parallel to the axis; the base surface comprises an inclined surface portion having one or more protrusions extending therefrom; the filter end is configured to be received in the housing in a bayonet manner to align the filter port and the cavity port.

2. The filter of claim 1, wherein the protrusions comprise a complex set of protrusions selected from the group consisting of: geometric shapes, symbols, various types of characters, wherein various types of characters include, for example, letters, numbers, or combinations thereof, and may form words, logos, designs, and the like.

3. The filter of claim 1, wherein the one or more protrusions extend along an inclined surface portion of the base surface, the base surface being convex and surrounding the neck.

4. The filter according to claim 1 wherein a side surface of said neck extends in a direction substantially parallel to said filter axis, having a bottom edge and a top edge, and wherein said elongated projections extend from said bottom edge of said side surface of said neck, and said elongated projections extend from a position proximate to said bottom edge toward said top edge.

5. The filter of claim 1, wherein the filter is configured to mate with a housing associated with a water cooler; the housing includes a surface and a cavity having a cavity port; the housing cavity is configured to receive the filter neck and includes a cavity wall adapted to align with a side surface of the filter neck; the housing surface comprises one or more recesses; the cavity wall comprising a channel through which the elongate projection passes when the filter end is inserted into the housing such that the base surface abuts the cavity surface and the filter end is rotatable relative to the housing; the cavity surface is configured to mate with the sloped base surface portion such that the one or more recesses are alignable and receive the one or more protrusions; wherein the filter end is fully secured to the housing when the filter port is aligned with the cavity port.

6. The filter of claim 1, wherein the filter is adapted for use in a water cooler having a housing with a cavity and a cavity port; the filter includes an end and an axis; the filter end includes a substantially cylindrical base having a base surface, and the filter end further includes a neck extending from the base surface; the neck includes a filter port and a side surface; a side surface of the neck having spaced first and second elongated protrusions extending in the direction of the filter axis; the base surface comprises first and second inclined base surface portions; each of the inclined base surface portions has a set of one or more protrusions; the filter end is configured to be received in a housing in a bayonet manner to align the filter port and cavity port; wherein the first and second one or more protrusions on the inclined base surface portion comprise a complex set of protrusions selected from the group consisting of: geometric shapes, symbols, various types of characters, wherein various types of characters include, for example, letters, numbers, or combinations thereof, and may form words, logos, designs, and the like.

7. A filter for a water cooler, wherein the filter is integrated with a housing associated with the water cooler; the housing comprises a surface, a cavity, and a cavity port; the filter includes an end and an axis; the filter end includes a substantially cylindrical base having a base surface, and a neck extending from the base surface; the neck having a filter port and a side surface; the side surface of the neck comprises an elongated protrusion; the base surface comprises an inclined base surface portion having a replica of the protrusions; the cavity comprises a cavity wall adapted to align with a side surface of the filter neck; the cavity wall comprising a channel through which the elongate protrusion passes when the filter end is inserted into the housing such that the base surface abuts the housing surface and the filter end is rotatable relative to the housing; the housing surface is configured to mate with the sloped base surface portion such that the one or more protrusions are aligned and received in the set of one or more recesses; wherein the filter end is capable of fully seating in the housing when the filter port is aligned with the cavity port.